115-488: V , formerly Eve Ensler ( / ˈ ɛ n s l ər / ; born May 25, 1953), is an American playwright, author, performer, feminist, and activist. V is best known for her play The Vagina Monologues . In 2006 Charles Isherwood of The New York Times called The Vagina Monologues "probably the most important piece of political theater of the last decade." In 2011, V was awarded the Isabelle Stevenson Award at
230-483: A CBS All Access miniseries based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Stephen King , portraying Mother Abagail, a 108-year-old woman. In 2020, it was announced Goldberg was set to return in Sister Act 3 with Tyler Perry producing. The film is slated to debut on Disney+ . Goldberg also stars in the biographical film Till , written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu , which she also produced. The film debuted at
345-483: A DNA test, revealed in the 2006 PBS documentary African American Lives , traced part of her ancestry to the Papel and Bayote people of modern-day Guinea-Bissau of West Africa. The show identified her great-great-grandparents as William and Elsie Washington, who had acquired property in northern Florida in 1873, and mentions they were among a very small number of black people who became landowners through homesteading in
460-633: A brain aneurysm . In 1991, Goldberg spoke out about her abortion in The Choices We Made: Twenty-Five Women and Men Speak Out About Abortion . In that book, she spoke about using a coat hanger to terminate a pregnancy at age 14. She said she had had six or seven abortions by the age of 25 and that birth control pills failed to stop several of her pregnancies. After the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum , Goldberg claimed that God would support abortion rights because he gave women freedom of choice . Goldberg has stated that she
575-633: A 2012 article in the Sydney Morning Herald , "After her marriage ended, she had a long relationship with the artist and psychotherapist Ariel Orr Jordan but is single now, which seems to suit her nomadic lifestyle – she has homes in New York and Paris but travels much of the year." A June 2010 article by V in The Guardian said that she was receiving treatment for uterine cancer . She wrote about her experience with cancer in her memoir, In The Body of
690-459: A Motion Picture – Drama for her portrayal of Celie, becoming the first Black actress to win in this category. Between 1985 and 1988, Goldberg was the busiest female star, making seven films. She starred in Penny Marshall 's directorial debut Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) and began a relationship with David Claessen , a director of photography on the set; they married later that year. The film
805-439: A Second Wave consciousness-raising group rather than a ground-breaking, inter-sectional, Third Wave cornerstone. Because of the title and content of The Vagina Monologues being body-centric, American University chose to change their production of it to a new show including all-original pieces, giving the production the name of Breaking Ground Monologues. Although members of American University's Women's Initiative believe that
920-744: A bottle of wine, pointed toward her pubic area, and said, "We should keep Bush where he belongs, and not in the White House." As result, Slim-Fast dropped her from their ad campaign. Later that year, she revived her one-woman show at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway in honor of its 20th anniversary; Charles Isherwood of The New York Times called the opening night performance an "intermittently funny but sluggish evening of comic portraiture". Goldberg made guest appearances on Everybody Hates Chris as elderly character Louise Clarkson. From August 2006 to March 2008, Goldberg hosted Wake Up with Whoopi ,
1035-603: A cameo in The Muppets . In 2012, Goldberg guest starred as Jane Marsh, Sue Heck's guidance counselor on The Middle . She voiced the Magic Mirror on Disney XD 's The 7D . In 2014, she also portrayed a character in the superhero film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). She also appeared as herself in Chris Rock 's Top Five and starred in the romantic comedy film Big Stone Gap . In 2016, Goldberg executive produced
1150-597: A children's television series on Nickelodeon . In 2002, Goldberg completed the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards) when she received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special as a producer of Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel and the Tony Award for Best Musical for producing Thoroughly Modern Millie . She is the first Black woman to be an EGOT recipient. Goldberg returned to
1265-409: A continuing chain of referrals. In an interview with Women.com, Ensler said that her fascination with vaginas began because of "growing up in a violent society". "Women's empowerment is deeply connected to their sexuality." She also stated, "I'm obsessed with women being violated and raped, and with incest . All of these things are deeply connected to our vaginas." Ensler wrote the piece to "celebrate
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#17328904816411380-453: A contradiction between the promotion of rape awareness on V-Day and the monologue "The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could", in which an adult woman recalls that being given alcohol and statutorily raped at 13 by a 24-year-old woman was a positive, healing experience, ending the segment with the proclamation "It was a good rape." Outcry from the play's supporters resulted in Swope being fired from
1495-414: A daughter, Alexandrea Martin , who also became an actress and producer. Through her daughter, Goldberg has three grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. On August 29, 2010, Goldberg's mother, Emma Johnson, died after having a stroke. She left London at the time, where she had been performing in the musical Sister Act , but returned to perform on October 22, 2010. In 2015, Goldberg's brother Clyde died of
1610-580: A frequent guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World . She made a guest appearance in Michael Jackson 's short film for the song " Liberian Girl ". She also appeared on the seventh season of the cooking reality series Hell's Kitchen as a special guest. On January 14, 2010, Goldberg made a one-night-only appearance at the Minskoff Theatre to perform in the mega-hit musical The Lion King . That same year, she attended
1725-564: A guest appearance on the situation comedy 30 Rock during the series' fourth season, in which she played herself, counseling Tracy Jordan on winning the " EGOT ", the coveted combination of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. On July 14, 2008, Goldberg announced on The View that from July 29 to September 7, she would perform in the Broadway musical Xanadu . On November 13, 2008, Goldberg's birthday, she announced live on The View that she would be producing, along with Stage Entertainment ,
1840-405: A hit. Soon, Eve Ensler's episodic play had graduated from off-off Broadway to Madison Square Garden to college stages the world over." In 2004, an all-transgender performance of The Vagina Monologues was held for the first time. The performance was covered by the 2006 documentary Beautiful Daughters , which displays the hardships the all-transgender cast faced with the production. The play
1955-479: A letter to Ban Ki-moon calling for a more humane drug policy, along with Warren Buffett , John Legend and Elizabeth Warren . In 2017 in an opinion piece in The Guardian V voiced criticism of the newly inaugurated president of the United States, Donald Trump , referring to him as a "self-confessed sexual assaulter" and "our predator-in-chief". In 2020, V endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President of
2070-445: A limited run that was scheduled to end November 15 but was extended to December 31. The play gained popularity through sold-out performances, media coverage and word of mouth. "In 2001, V-Day sold out New York's Madison Square Garden with more than seventy actors performing. The evening raised $ 1 million raised for groups working to end violence against women and girls." "After "The Vagina Monologues" debuted in 1996, it quickly became
2185-458: A nationally syndicated morning radio talk and entertainment program. In October 2007, Goldberg announced on the air that she was going to retire from acting because she was no longer sent scripts, saying, "You know, there's no room for the very talented Whoopi. There's no room right now in the marketplace of cinema". On December 13, 2008, she guest starred on The Naked Brothers Band , a Nickelodeon rock- mockumentary television series. Before
2300-608: A panel at the UN on human rights, children and armed conflict, terrorism, and reconciliation in 2009. On an episode of The View that aired on May 9, 2012, Goldberg stated she is a member of the National Rifle Association of America . On April 1, 2010, Goldberg joined Cyndi Lauper in the launch of her Give a Damn campaign to bring a wider awareness of discrimination of the LGBT community and to invite straight people to ally with
2415-504: A producer of the Westside Theatre production, launched V-Day, a global non-profit movement that has raised over US$ 100 million for groups working to end violence against women (including those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender-based violence), through benefits of The Vagina Monologues . In 2011, Ensler was awarded the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 65th Tony Awards, which recognizes an individual from
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#17328904816412530-454: A racist". In 2015, Goldberg was initially a defender of Bill Cosby from the rape allegations made against him, questioning why Cosby had never been arrested or tried for them. She later changed her stance, stating that "all of the information that's out there kinda points to 'guilt'." After learning that the statute of limitations on these allegations had expired and thus Cosby could not be tried, she also stated her support for removing
2645-671: A reality television series called Strut , based on transgender models from the modeling agency Slay Model Management in Los Angeles. The series aired on Oxygen . In 2017, she voiced Ursula, the Sea Witch and Uma's mother, in the TV movie Descendants 2 . In 2018, she starred in the Tyler Perry 's film Nobody's Fool , alongside Tiffany Haddish , Omari Hardwick , Mehcad Brooks , Amber Riley , and Tika Sumpter . That same year, she also starred in
2760-596: A second Golden Globe Award. She starred in the comedy Sister Act (1992) and its sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), becoming the highest-paid actress at the time. She also acted in Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Clara's Heart (1988), Soapdish (1991), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), and Till (2022). She also voiced roles in The Lion King (1994) and Toy Story 3 (2010). On stage, Goldberg has starred in
2875-568: A theatrical version of her memoir, which she performs as a solo monologue, directed by Diane Paulus , at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. She contributed the piece "Theater: A Sacred Home for Women" to the 2003 anthology Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium , edited by Robin Morgan . V provided uncredited contributions to the book for Wicked ,
2990-608: A woman in the US civil rights movement . She played a psychic in the film Ghost (1990) and became the first black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in nearly 50 years, and the second black woman to win an Academy Award for acting (the first being Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind in 1940 ). She also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and
3105-785: A writing group since 1998 at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women , which was portrayed in What I Want My Words To Do To You . Judy Clark , Kathy Boudin , and Pamela Smart were among the writing group's participants featured in the film. In 2011, V-Day and the Fondation Panzi (DRC), with support from UNICEF , opened the City of Joy, a new community for women survivors of gender violence in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). City of Joy provides up to 180 Congolese women
3220-457: A year with an opportunity to benefit from group therapy; self-defense training; comprehensive sexuality education (covering HIV/AIDS, family planning); economic empowerment; storytelling; dance; theater; ecology and horticulture. Created from their vision, Congolese women run, operate and direct City of Joy themselves. The City of Joy celebrated its first graduating class in February 2012. The story of
3335-498: Is a documentary about the cast of the first performance by transgender women. An article in Signs by Christine M. Cooper begins by applauding The Vagina Monologues for benefit performances done within the first six years (1998–2004). These performances raised over $ 20 million, 85 percent of which was donated to grassroots organizations that fight against violence towards women. The Vagina Monologues has been criticized by some within
3450-554: Is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that distributes funds to national and international grassroot organizations and programs that work to stop violence against girls and women. The Vagina Monologues is the cornerstone of the V-Day movement, whose participants stage benefit performances of the show and/or host other related events in their communities. Such events take place worldwide each year between 1 February and 30 April, many on college campuses as well. All performances must stick to
3565-485: Is one of few people to receive an Emmy Award , Grammy Award , Academy Award , and Tony Award , collectively known as the EGOT . In 2001, she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor . Goldberg began her career on stage in 1983 with her one-woman show, Spook Show , which transferred to Broadway under the title Whoopi Goldberg , running from 1984 to 1985. She won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for
Eve Ensler - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-431: Is the primary register through which 'the global' is evoked, the main lens for looking outside the United States. These global locations serve to signify the terror that is used to hold the laughter in balance, to validate the seriousness of the enterprise, while the 'vagina' pieces are more directly associated with pleasure and sexuality and set in the United States." In 2013, Columbia University's V-Day decided to stage
3795-521: The 60th New York Film Festival . Goldberg guest starred on the Disney Channel show Amphibia as the character Mother Olms . In 2006, Goldberg appeared during the 20th anniversary of Comic Relief . Goldberg is an advocate for human rights , moderating a panel at the Alliance of Youth Movements Summit on how social networks can be used to fight violent extremism in 2008, and also moderating
3910-484: The 65th Tony Awards , which recognizes an individual from the theater community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of humanitarian, social service, or charitable organizations. V was given this award for her creation of the non-profit V-Day movement which raises money and educates the public about violence against women and efforts to stop it. She writes for The Guardian and has been featured in films including V-Day's Until
4025-619: The ABC-TV versions of Cinderella , A Knight in Camelot , and Call Me Claus . In 1998 she gained a new audience when she became the "Center Square" on Hollywood Squares , hosted by Tom Bergeron . She also served as executive producer, for which she was nominated for four Emmy Awards . She left the series in 2002. In 1999, she voiced Ransome in the British animated children's show Foxbusters by Cosgrove Hall Films . AC Nielsen EDI ranked her as
4140-545: The ASPCA. Goldberg co-founded Whoopi & Maya, a company that made medical cannabis products for women seeking relief from menstrual cramps . Goldberg says she was inspired to go into business by "a lifetime of difficult periods and the fact that cannabis was literally the only thing that gave me relief". The company was launched in April 2016 but announced in February 2020 that it was ceasing operations. In 2021, Goldberg announced
4255-587: The Burqa , about the plight of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. In 2004, Ensler wrote one called They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy. . .Or So They Tried after interviewing a group of women whose gender differed from that assigned to them at birth. Every V-Day thousands of local benefit productions are staged to raise funds for local groups, shelters, and crisis centers working to end violence against women. V-Day
4370-538: The Chelsea-Elliot Houses , in New York City. Goldberg described her mother as a "stern, strong, and wise woman" who raised her as a single mother with her brother Clyde ( c. 1949 – 2015). She attended a local Catholic school, St Columba's. Her more recent forebears migrated north from Faceville, Georgia ; Palatka, Florida ; and Virginia . She dropped out of Washington Irving High School . She has stated that her stage forename ("Whoopi")
4485-529: The Disney / Pixar animated movie Toy Story 3 . The movie received critical acclaim and grossed $ 1.067 billion worldwide. Goldberg had a recurring role on the television series Glee during its third and fourth seasons as Carmen Tibideaux , a renowned Broadway performer and opera singer and the dean at a fictional performing arts college NYADA (New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts). In 2011, she had
4600-622: The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture . Premiere named her character Oda Mae Brown in its list of Top 100 best film characters. Goldberg starred in Soapdish (1991) and had a recurring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation between 1988 and 1993 as Guinan , a character she reprised in two Star Trek films. She made a cameo in the Traveling Wilburys 1991 music video " Wilbury Twist ". On May 29, 1992,
4715-584: The Life Ball in Austria. Goldberg made her West End debut as the Mother Superior in a musical version of Sister Act for a limited engagement set for August 10–31, 2010, but prematurely left the cast on August 27 to be with her family; her mother had had a severe stroke. However, she later returned to the cast for five performances. The show closed on October 30, 2010. On September 4, 2007, Goldberg became
Eve Ensler - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-533: The National Museum of American Illustration . She was a speaker at the 2017 Women's March in New York City and was such again at the following year's event . On January 24, 2021, Goldberg appeared with Tom Everett Scott as guests on the AmAIRican Grabbuddies marathon fundraising episode of The George Lucas Talk Show , where she spoke of her time working on Snow Buddies and raised money for
4945-668: The Victoria Theatre in San Francisco; the Oakland Museum of California preserves a poster advertising the show. She created The Spook Show , a one-woman show composed of different character monologues in 1983. Director Mike Nichols "discovered" her when he saw her perform. In an interview, he recalled that he "burst into tears", and that he and Goldberg "fell into each other's arms" when they first met backstage. Goldberg considered Nichols her mentor. Nichols helped her transfer
5060-729: The "South Asian adaptation of The Vagina Monologues ", and as loose inspiration for The Manic Monologues , "the mental-illness version of The Vagina Monologues ." The Cardinal Newman Society has criticized the performance of the play on Catholic college campuses. In 2011 ten of the fourteen Catholic universities hosting the Monologues were Jesuit institutions. The Jesuit Tim Clancy, pastor and philosophy professor at Gonzaga University , explains why he supports VM performances on campus: "They are not arguments – they are stories … stories of pain and suffering, stories of shame, violation and impotence" that lead to discussions on "the extremes of
5175-640: The Broadway revivals of Stephen Sondheim 's musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and August Wilson 's play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom . She won a Tony Award as a producer of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie . In 2011 she received her third Tony Award nomination for the stage adaptation of Sister Act (2011). On television, Goldberg portrayed Guinan in the science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988–1993), and Star Trek: Picard (2022). Since 2007, she has co-hosted and moderated
5290-469: The City of Joy, including V's involvement, is portrayed in the documentary City of Joy , screening on Netflix. In 2012, along with the V-Day movement, V created One Billion Rising , a global protest campaign to end violence, and promote justice and gender equality for women. On February 14, 2013, V-Day's 15th anniversary, women and men in countries around the world held dance actions to demand an end to violence against women and girls. In 2016, V co-signed
5405-662: The Forum . Greg Evans of Variety regarded her "thoroughly modern style" as "a welcome invitation to a new audience that could find this 1962 musical as dated as ancient Rome". The Washington Post ' s Chip Crews deemed Goldberg "a pip and a pro", and that she "ultimately [...] steers the show past its rough spots". From 1998 to 2001, Goldberg took supporting roles in How Stella Got Her Groove Back with Angela Bassett , Girl, Interrupted with Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie , Kingdom Come , and Rat Race with an all-star ensemble cast. She starred in
5520-539: The HERE premiere and in the first off-Broadway production, which was produced by David Stone , Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group , Willa Shalit and the West Side Theater. When she left the play, it was recast with three celebrity monologists. The play has been staged internationally, and a television version featuring Ensler was produced by cable TV channel HBO . In 1998, Ensler and others, including Willa Shalit,
5635-741: The Mexican government re-investigate the slayings of hundreds of women in Ciudad Juárez , a city along the Texas border. V is a supporter of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) and went to Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban . She supports Afghan women and has organized many programs for them. She organized one event named the "Afghani Women's Summit For Democracy". V has led
5750-674: The Side , and Moonlight and Valentino , and guest-starred on Muppets Tonight in 1996. In 1994, Goldberg became the first black woman to host the Academy Awards ceremony starting with the 66th Oscar telecast . She hosted it again in 1996 , 1999 , and 2002 , and has been regarded as one of the show's best hosts. Goldberg starred in four motion pictures in 1996: Bogus (with Gérard Depardieu and Haley Joel Osment ), Eddie , The Associate (with Dianne Wiest ), and Ghosts of Mississippi (with Alec Baldwin and James Woods ). During
5865-909: The U.S. and around the world. As of 2014, the V-Day movement had raised over $ 100 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, launched the Karama program in the Middle East, reopened shelters, and funded over 12,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo , Haiti , Kenya , South Dakota , Egypt and Iraq . These safe houses provide women sanctuary from abuse, female genital mutilation and 'honor' killing. The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory , Valentine and Vagina . In February 2004, V, alongside Sally Field , Jane Fonda and Christine Lahti , protested to have
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#17328904816415980-671: The United States in the 2020 election . V has received numerous awards for her artistic and humanitarian work: The Vagina Monologues The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center , Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run at the Westside Theatre . The play explores consensual and nonconsensual sexual experiences, body image, genital mutilation, direct and indirect encounters with reproduction, vaginal care, menstrual periods, prostitution , and several other topics through
6095-628: The Violence Stops , the PBS documentary What I Want My Words to Do to You , and the Netflix documentary City of Joy, among others. She regularly appears in print, radio, podcast, and television interviews including on CNN, Democracy Now, TODAY, Real Time with Bill Maher and Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry . V was born in New York City , the second of three children of Arthur Ensler, an executive in
6210-479: The World . In an interview with Democracy Now! in 2012, V stated that she was two and a half years cancer free. After publishing her book The Apology in 2019, where she described sexual and physical abuse by her late father, the author stated she wished to distance herself from the surname he used and expressed her preference to be called by the mononym V. V wrote The Vagina Monologues in 1996. First performed in
6325-522: The actress appearing in the most theatrical films in the 1990s, with 29 films grossing $ 1.3 billion in the U.S. and Canada (equivalent to $ 2 billion in 2023). In 2001, Goldberg hosted the documentary short The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas and later portrayed Death in Monkeybone . In 2003, she returned to television in Whoopi , which was canceled after one season. On her 46th birthday, she
6440-703: The annual script that V-Day puts out specifically for the V-Day productions of The Vagina Monologues . The V-Day organization encourages the renditions to include as many diverse actors as possible. With a minimum of 5 actors required by V-Day, the organization also has no maximum limit on the number of actors that can be included in the productions and encourages inclusion of as many actors as possible. The performances generally benefit rape crisis centers and shelters for women, as well as similar resource centers for women and girls experiencing violence against them. On 21 February 2004, Ms. Ensler in conjunction with Jane Fonda and Deep Stealth Productions produced and directed
6555-671: The basement of the Cornelia Street Café in Greenwich Village , the play premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. Subsequently, the play has been translated into 48 languages and performed in over 140 countries. Celebrities who have starred in it include Jane Fonda , Whoopi Goldberg , Idina Menzel , Glenn Close , Susan Sarandon , Marin Mazzie , Cyndi Lauper , Mary Testa , Sandra Oh and Oprah Winfrey . V
6670-410: The book, saying, "This is a ravishing book of revelation and healing, lashing truths and deep emotion, courage and perseverance, compassion and generosity. Warm, funny, furious, and astute, as well as poetic, passionate, and heroic, Ensler harnesses all that she lost and learned to articulate a galvanizing vision of the essence of life: 'The only salvation is kindness.'". On February 6, 2018, she premiered
6785-506: The clitoris. There is also criticism of The Vagina Monologues about its conflation of vaginas with women, more specifically for the message of the play that women are their vaginas, as Susan E. Bell and Susan M. Reverby argue, "Generations of feminists have argued that we are more than our bodies, more than a vagina or 'the sex'. Yet, TVM re-inscribes women's politics in our bodies, indeed in our vaginas alone." The focus on women finding themselves through their vaginas, many say, seems more like
6900-476: The comedy-drama film Furlough , alongside Tessa Thompson , Melissa Leo , and Anna Paquin . In 2019, Goldberg's voice was used for the role of the Giant's Wife in the Hollywood Bowl production of Into the Woods . In an appearance on The View on January 22, 2020, Patrick Stewart invited Goldberg to reprise her role as Guinan during the second season of Star Trek: Picard . She immediately accepted his offer. Goldberg also starred in The Stand ,
7015-404: The common names for the vagina or simply as a physical aspect of the body. A recurring theme throughout the piece is the vagina as a tool of female empowerment, and the ultimate embodiment of individuality. Some monologues include : Every year a new monologue is added to highlight another issue affecting women around the world. In 2003, for example, Ensler wrote a new monologue, called Under
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#17328904816417130-420: The daytime talk show The View , for which she won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host . She has hosted the Academy Awards ceremony four times. Caryn Elaine Johnson was born in Manhattan , New York City, on November 13, 1955, the daughter of Emma Johnson ( née Harris), a nurse and teacher, and Robert James Johnson Jr., a Baptist clergyman. She was raised in a public housing project,
7245-399: The decision not to endorse the 2007 production, claiming the yearly event was getting to be "redundant". The response of the university's student-led feminist organization was to continue the production at an off-campus location. In 2000, Robert Swope, a conservative contributor to a Georgetown University newspaper, The Hoya , wrote an article critical of the play. He suggested there was
7360-574: The episode premiered, on February 18, 2008, the band performed on The View and the band members were interviewed by Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd . That same year, Goldberg hosted 62nd Tony Awards . In 2010, she starred in the Tyler Perry movie For Colored Girls , alongside Janet Jackson , Phylicia Rashad , Thandie Newton , Loretta Devine , Anika Noni Rose , Kimberly Elise , Kerry Washington , and Macy Gray . The film received generally good reviews from critics and grossed over $ 38 million worldwide. The same year, she voiced Stretch in
7475-484: The event and defended Danson after a media furor. She has stated that she has no plans to marry again: "Some people are not meant to be married and I am not meant to. I'm sure it is wonderful for lots of people." In a 2011 interview with Piers Morgan , she explained that she was never in love with the men she married and commented: "You have to really be committed to them...I don't have that commitment. I'm committed to my family." On May 9, 1974, Goldberg gave birth to
7590-528: The eyes of society. V's play, The Treatment debuted on September 12, 2006, at the Culture Project in New York City. This play explores the moral and psychological trauma that are the result of participation in military conflicts. It stars her adoptive son, Dylan McDermott . In 2006, V released her first major work written exclusively for the printed page. Insecure at Last: Losing It In Our Security-Obsessed World ( Villard ; Hardcover; October 3, 2006). In Insecure at Last , she explores how people live today,
7705-463: The eyes of women with various ages, races, sexualities, and other differences. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times called the play "probably the most important piece of political theater of the last decade." In 2018, The New York Times stated "No recent hour of theater has had a greater impact worldwide" in an article "The Great Work Continues: The 25 Best American Plays Since ' Angels in America ' ". Ensler originally starred in both
7820-411: The feminist movement, including pro-sex feminists and individualist feminists . Sex-positive feminist Betty Dodson , author of several books about female sexuality, saw the play as having a narrow and restrictive view of sexuality. Dodson's main concern seemed to be the lack of the term "clitoris" throughout the play. She believes that the play sends a message that the vagina is the main sex organ, not
7935-434: The film Sister Act was released. It grossed well over US$ 200 million (equivalent to $ 434 million in 2023), and Goldberg was nominated for a Golden Globe Award . That year, she starred in The Player and Sarafina! . She also hosted the 34th Annual Grammy Awards , receiving praise from the Sun-Sentinel ' s Deborah Wilker for bringing to life what Wilker considered "stodgy and stale" ceremonies. During
8050-521: The film's producers. Clara's Heart (1988) did poorly at the box office, though her own performance was critically acclaimed. As the 1980s concluded, she hosted numerous HBO specials of Comic Relief with fellow comedians Robin Williams and Billy Crystal . In January 1990, Goldberg starred with Jean Stapleton in the situation comedy Bagdad Cafe (inspired by the 1987 film of the same name ). The sitcom ran for two seasons on CBS . Simultaneously, she starred in The Long Walk Home , portraying
8165-400: The filming of Eddie , she began dating co-star Frank Langella , a relationship that lasted until early 2000. In October 1997, she and ghostwriter Daniel Paisner cowrote Book , a collection featuring Goldberg's insights and opinions. Also in 1996, Goldberg replaced Nathan Lane as Pseudolus in the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim 's musical comedy A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to
8280-472: The first all-transgender performance of The Vagina Monologues , with readings by eighteen notable transgender women and including a new monologue documenting the experiences of transgender women. It debuted in connection with "LA V-DAY Until the Violence Stops" with monologues documenting the violence against transgender women. Since that debut, many university and college productions have included these three "Transgender Monologues". Beautiful Daughters (2006)
8395-471: The food industry, and Chris Ensler. She was raised in the northern suburb of Scarsdale . Her father was Jewish and her mother Christian, and she grew up in a predominantly Jewish community; however, V identifies herself as a Nichiren Buddhist and says that her spiritual practice includes chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō and doing yoga . V says that from the ages of five to ten, she was sexually and physically abused by her father. Growing up, she has said she
8510-422: The fourth-longest running Broadway show in history. From October 2005 to April 2006, V toured twenty North American cities with her play The Good Body , following engagements on Broadway, at ACT in San Francisco, and in a workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre . The Good Body addresses why women of many cultures and backgrounds perceive pressure to change the way they look in order to be accepted in
8625-541: The gay, lesbian, bisexual , transgender community. Her high-profile support for LGBT rights and AIDS activism dates from the 1987 March on Washington , in which she participated. In May 2017, she spoke in support of transgender rights at the 28th GLAAD Media Awards . Goldberg is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service . She also serves on the National Council Advisory Board of
8740-592: The holidays." She has stated that "people would say 'Come on, are you Jewish?' And I always say 'Would you ask me that if I was white? I bet not.'" One account suggests that her mother, Emma Johnson, thought the family's original surname was "not Jewish enough" for her daughter to become a star. Goldberg has said that her family is "Jewish, Buddhist, Baptist, and Catholic." Researcher Henry Louis Gates Jr. found that all of Goldberg's traceable ancestors were black, that she had no known German or Jewish ancestry, and that none of her ancestors were named Goldberg. Results of
8855-490: The human condition", responding to the call of Pope Benedict for Jesuits in their work to explore "the boundaries resulting from an erroneous or superficial vision of God and man that stand between faith and human knowledge". Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg ( / ˈ w ʊ p i / ), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality. The recipient of numerous accolades , she
8970-650: The launch of a new line of cannabis products, "Emma & Clyde", named for her late mother and brother. Goldberg performed the role of Califia , the Queen of the Island of California , for a theater presentation called Golden Dreams at Disney California Adventure Park , the second gate at the Disneyland Resort, in 2000. The show, which explains the history of the Golden State (California), opened on February 8, 2001, with
9085-434: The lead role in his film The Color Purple , based on the novel by Alice Walker . It was released in late 1985, and was a critical and commercial success. Film critic Roger Ebert described Goldberg's performance as "one of the most amazing debut performances in movie history". It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards , including a nomination for Goldberg as Best Actress . She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in
9200-503: The measures people take to keep themselves safe, and how people can experience freedom by letting go of the deceptive notion of "protection". In 2006 V also co-edited A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer , an anthology of writings about violence against women . V's work I Am An Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around The World , a collection of original monologues about and for girls that aims to inspire girls to take agency over their minds, bodies, hearts and curiosities,
9315-406: The new moderator and co-host of The View , replacing Rosie O'Donnell . Goldberg's debut as moderator drew 3.4 million viewers, 1 million fewer than O'Donnell's debut ratings. However, after 2 weeks, The View was averaging 3.5 million total viewers under Goldberg, a 7-percent increase from 3.3 million under O'Donnell the previous season. Goldberg has made controversial comments on
9430-576: The next year, Goldberg hosted a late-night talk show, The Whoopi Goldberg Show , and starred in two more films: Made in America and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit . With an estimated salary of $ 7–12 million for Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), she was the highest-paid actress at the time. From 1994 to 1995, she appeared in Corrina, Corrina , The Lion King (voice), Theodore Rex , The Little Rascals , The Pagemaster (voice), Boys on
9545-736: The play with a cast entirely of non-White women. That decision, too, was controversial. The play has also been criticized by social conservatives , such as the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) and the Network of Enlightened Women . The TFP denounced it as "a piece replete with sexual encounters, lust, graphic descriptions of masturbation and lesbian behavior", urging students and parents to protest. Following TFP and other protests, performances were cancelled at sixteen Catholic colleges . Saint Louis University made
9660-668: The premiere of Sister Act: The Musical at the London Palladium . She gave a short message at the beginning of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 wishing all the participants good luck, and stressing the importance of UNICEF , the official charity of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Since its launch in 2008, Goldberg has been a contributor for wowOwow .com, a new website for women to talk culture, politics, and gossip. Goldberg has been
9775-473: The president of the school's theater group, said, "the show offers an extremely narrow perspective on what it means to be a woman. … Gender is a wide and varied experience, one that cannot simply be reduced to biological or anatomical distinctions, and many of us who have participated in the show have grown increasingly uncomfortable presenting material that is inherently reductionist and exclusive." The traditionally all-female college had begun admitting trans women
9890-496: The previous year, but the college denied that had anything to do with the decision to discontinue the annual performances of the play. Kim Hall, a professor of philosophy at Appalachian State University, further criticizes the play, particularly the sections dealing with women in developing countries , for contributing to "colonialist conceptions of non-Western women", such as the piece "My Vagina Was My Village." Although she supports frank discussions about sex, Hall rescales many of
10005-554: The program on several occasions. One of her first appearances involved defending Michael Vick 's participation in dogfighting as a result of "cultural upbringing". In 2009, she opined that Roman Polanski 's rape conviction of a thirteen-year-old in 1977 was not "rape-rape". She later clarified that she had intended to distinguish between statutory rape and forcible rape . The following year, in response to alleged comments by Mel Gibson considered racist, she said: "I don't like what he did here, but I know Mel and I know he's not
10120-534: The recording of the show. Her film breakthrough came in 1985 with her role as Celie, a mistreated woman in the Deep South , in Steven Spielberg 's period drama film The Color Purple , for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama . For her role as an eccentric psychic in the romantic fantasy film Ghost (1990), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and
10235-545: The rest of the park. Golden Dreams closed in September 2008 to make way for the upcoming Little Mermaid ride planned for DCA. In 2001, Goldberg co-hosted the 50th Anniversary of I Love Lucy . In July 2006, Goldberg became the main host of the Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour, in which she appears multiple times in video clips shown to the guests on monitors placed on the trams. She made
10350-467: The same critiques leveled by feminists of color at " White privilege " among second-wave feminists : "premature white feminist assumptions and celebrations of a global 'sisterhood.'" In The Vagina Monologues, depictions of sexual violence are told through mostly non-white and non-US centered stories, as Srimati Basu states, "While a few of these forms of violence, such as sexual assault and denigration of genitalia, are depicted in U.S. locations, violence
10465-534: The script being modified in 2008 to change the age of the statutorily raped girl from 13 to 16 and to remove the "good rape" line. Every year, the play is performed on hundreds of college campuses as part of V-Day's College campaign. Inspired by The Vagina Monologues , many colleges have gone on to develop their own plays. Performances at colleges are always different, not always pre-written, and sometimes feature actors writing their own monologue. The Vagina Monologues also served as inspiration for Yoni Ki Baat ,
10580-556: The show was revolutionary in the 1990s, they concluded that equating having a vagina with being a woman is not an accurate display of womanhood in the 2010s, suggesting that The Vagina Monologues continues to perpetuate the gender binary and erase the identity of those who are genderqueer . In 2015 a student organization at Mount Holyoke College canceled its annual performance of the play for being, in its opinion, insufficiently inclusive of transgender people. "At its core", Erin Murphy,
10695-674: The show to Broadway , where it was retitled Whoopi Goldberg . The show ran from October 24, 1984, to March 10, 1985, and was taped and broadcast by HBO as Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway. The recording of the special was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album , making Goldberg the first Black female comedian to win the Grammy. Goldberg's Broadway performance caught the eye of director Steven Spielberg while she performed in The Belly Room at The Comedy Store . Spielberg gave her
10810-536: The staff of The Hoya , before the piece was even run. Swope had previously criticized the play in an article he wrote entitled "Georgetown Women's Center: Indispensable Asset or Improper Expenditure?" His termination received critical editorial coverage in The Wall Street Journal , Salon , National Review , The Atlantic Monthly , The Washington Times , The Weekly Standard , and by Wendy McElroy of iFeminists . The controversy resulted in
10925-514: The stage in 2003, starring as blues singer Ma Rainey in the Broadway revival of August Wilson 's historical drama Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Royale Theatre . She was also one of the show's producers. Goldberg was involved in controversy at a fundraiser for John Kerry at Radio City Music Hall in New York in July 2004 when she made a sexual joke about President George W. Bush by waving
11040-499: The statute of limitations for rape. On January 31, 2022, Goldberg drew widespread criticism for stating on the show that the Holocaust was not based on race but "about man's inhumanity to man", telling her co-hosts: "This is white people doing it to white people, so y'all going to fight amongst yourselves." She apologized on Twitter later that day. She maintained that the Nazis ' issue
11155-577: The theater community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of humanitarian, social service, or charitable organizations for her creation of the V-Day movement. Eve Ensler wrote the first draft of the monologues in 1996 (there have been several revisions since) following interviews she conducted with 200 women about their views on sex, relationships, and violence against women. The interviews began as casual conversations with her friends, who then brought up anecdotes they themselves had been told by other friends; this began
11270-423: The vagina". Ensler states that in 1998, the purpose of the piece changed from a celebration of vaginas and femininity to a movement to stop violence against women. This was the start of the V-Day movement which has continued strong every year since, has turned into a worldwide phenomenon, and a very successful non-profit organization. The play opened at HERE Arts Center in New York City on October 3, 1996, with
11385-567: The work, V said that she had ceased to feel any bitterness towards her father, but that she no longer wished to carry his name, inviting people to call her V. V is an activist addressing issues of violence against women and girls. In 1998, her experience performing The Vagina Monologues inspired her to create V-Day , a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day raises funds and awareness through annual benefit productions of The Vagina Monologues . In 2010, more than 5,400 V-Day events took place in over 1,500 locations in
11500-528: The year 2018. The Vagina Monologues is made up of personal monologues read by a diverse group of women. Originally, Eve Ensler performed every monologue herself, with subsequent performances featuring three actresses, and more recent versions featuring a different actress for every role. Each of the monologues deals with an aspect of the feminine experience , touching on matters such as sex , sex work , body image , love , rape , menstruation , female genital mutilation , masturbation , birth , orgasm ,
11615-634: The years following the Civil War. The show also mentions that her grandparents were living in Harlem, and that her grandfather was working as a Pullman porter. According to an anecdote told by Nichelle Nichols in Trekkies (1997), a young Goldberg was watching Star Trek , and on seeing Nichols's character Uhura , exclaimed, "Momma! There's a black lady on television and she ain't no maid!" This spawned Goldberg's lifelong Star Trek fandom. Goldberg lobbied for and
11730-471: Was "very sad, very angry, very defiant. I was the girl with the dirty hair. I didn't fit anywhere." V attended Middlebury College in Vermont , where she became known as a militant feminist. After graduating in 1975, she had a string of abusive relationships and became dependent on drugs and alcohol. In 1978, she married Richard Dylan McDermott, a 34-year-old bartender, who convinced her to enter rehab . When she
11845-415: Was 23, she adopted Mark Anthony McDermott , her husband's 16-year-old son from his first marriage. Their relationship came to be a close one, and V said that it taught her "how to be a loving human being". After V suffered a miscarriage, Mark took the name she had planned for her baby, Dylan. V and Dylan's father separated in 1988, the former citing that she "needed the independence, the freedom". According to
11960-492: Was a modest success, and during the next two years, three additional motion pictures featured Goldberg: Burglar (1987), Fatal Beauty (1987), and The Telephone (1988). Though they were not as successful, Goldberg garnered awards from the NAACP Image Awards . Goldberg and Claessen divorced after the poor box office performance of The Telephone , in which she was contracted to perform. She tried unsuccessfully to sue
12075-525: Was also adapted into a Marathi play called Yonichya Maneechya Gujagoshti by feminist writer-activist Vandana Khare in the year 2009. Gabriela Youth, the one and only national democratic mass organization for young women in the Philippines also adapted the play into a Tagalog theatrical show called "Ang Usapang Puke" with its student members from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in
12190-741: Was awarded the Obie Award in 1996 for 'Best New Play' and in 1999 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship Award in Playwriting. She has also received the Berrilla-Kerr Award for Playwriting, the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, and the Jury Award for Theater at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival . V's memoir In the Body of the World was released on April 30, 2013. Booklist reviewed
12305-498: Was eventually cast in a recurring guest starring role as Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation . In the 1970s, Goldberg moved to San Diego, California , where she became a waitress, then to Berkeley , where she worked odd jobs, including as a bank teller, a mortuary cosmetologist, and a bricklayer. She joined the avant-garde theater troupe the Blake Street Hawkeyes and gave comedy and acting classes; Courtney Love
12420-510: Was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . She also appeared alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett in the HBO documentary Unchained Memories (2003), narrating slave narratives. During the next two years, she became a spokeswoman for Slim Fast and produced two television series: Lifetime's original drama Strong Medicine , which ran six seasons; and Whoopi's Littleburg ,
12535-612: Was married to drug counselor Alvin Martin from 1973 to 1979; to cinematographer David Claessen from 1986 to 1988; and to union organizer Lyle Trachtenberg from 1994 to 1995. She has had live-in relationships with actor Frank Langella and playwright David Schein. Her other ex-boyfriends include businessman Michael Visbal, orthodontist Jeffrey Cohen, camera operator Edward Gold, and actors Timothy Dalton and Ted Danson . Danson controversially appeared in blackface during his 1993 Friars Club roast; Goldberg wrote some of his jokes for
12650-414: Was nominated for a 2011 Naledi Theatre Award for Best Ensemble Production/Cutting Edge Production. V was a consultant on feminism and women's issues for the 2015 action film Mad Max: Fury Road . In 2019, V published the book The Apology , where she imagines what her now dead father would say if he was able to apologize for the sexual and physical abuse he inflicted on her as a child. After completing
12765-590: Was once a "functioning" drug addict. She has stated that she smoked marijuana before accepting the Best Supporting Actress award for Ghost in 1991. Goldberg has dyslexia . She has lived in Llewellyn Park , a neighborhood in West Orange, New Jersey , saying she moved there to be able to be outside in private. She maintains an additional summer residence on the coast of Sardinia . She has expressed
12880-889: Was one of her acting students. Goldberg was also in a number of theater productions. In 1978, she witnessed a midair collision of two planes in San Diego , causing her to develop a fear of flying and post-traumatic stress disorder . Goldberg trained under acting teacher Uta Hagen at the HB Studio in New York City. She first appeared onscreen in Citizen: I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away (1982), an avant-garde ensemble feature by San Francisco filmmaker William Farley . In 1983 and 1984, she "first came to national prominence with her one-woman show" in which she portrayed Moms Mabley , Moms , first performed in Berkeley, California, and then at
12995-646: Was released February 2010 in book form by Villard/Random House and made The New York Times Best Seller list . The book was workshopped in July 2010 at New York Stage and Film and Vassar College , moving toward an Off-Broadway production. The theatrical production of the piece, titled Emotional Creature , had its United States debut at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in Berkeley, CA in June 2012. In February 2012, The South African production of Emotional Creature
13110-564: Was taken from a whoopee cushion : "When you're performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So if you get a little gassy , you've got to let it go. So people used to say to me, 'You're like a whoopee cushion.' And that's where the name came from." About her stage surname, she claimed in 2011, "My mother did not name me Whoopi, but Goldberg is my name—it's part of my family, part of my heritage, just like being black," and "I just know I am Jewish. I practice nothing. I don't go to temple, but I do remember
13225-509: Was with ethnicity and not race on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that same day, which drew further criticism. Goldberg issued another apology on air the following day. She was subsequently suspended from The View for two weeks over the comments. Goldberg has stated that her influences are Richard Pryor , George Carlin , Moms Mabley , Lenny Bruce , Joan Rivers , Eddie Murphy , Bill Cosby , Sidney Poitier , and Harry Belafonte . Goldberg has been married three times. She
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